Frozen has a killer soundtrack and songs such as “Let it Go!” became a phenomenon for Disney, but which cast members sang the songs in Frozen?

Summary

• Frozen's success can be attributed to its critically acclaimed songs and the unconventional approach of having the main cast members sing the movie's tracks.
• The cast of Frozen, including Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell, received acclaim for their musical performances prior to the film and sang their own songs, avoiding the common problem of using separate singing voices for Disney characters.
• By allowing the voice actors to perform the songs on stage, Frozen maintained the recognition and connection between the actors and their iconic characters, unlike other Disney movies that used separate singing casts.

Frozen became a hit for Disney with its critically acclaimed songs, with the film taking an arguably unconventional approach to the cast members who actually sing the movies' tracks. Following the first movie's release in 2013, Frozen and Frozen II broke plenty of box office records and even garnered various awards wins and nominations for their compelling narratives and original music – a trend that Disney's Frozen 3 is expected to continue. Still renowned for its catchy soundtrack a decade later, the release of Frozen saw its number-one song, “Let It Go!,” skyrocket on the charts and become just as popular as the movie itself.

“Let It Go!” won both an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2014 and a Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual media. Plus, the Frozen soundtrack as a whole won an Academy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media and had a second nomination. It was not just the music that made Frozen so beloved, but its killer cast and the dynamic characters they played. Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell led the casts of Frozen and Frozen II as the royal sisters Elsa and Anna, with the two characters being at the center of several iconic Disney songs. Joining them was Josh Gad (Olaf), Jonathon Groff (Kristoff), and Santino Fontana (Hans) to give Frozen a stellar group of voice actors, with the cast varying in musical backgrounds.

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All Of Frozen's Main Cast Members Sing Their Songs

While somewhat surprising given such a renowned group of voice actors, the entire Frozen cast sang their own songs as well. Elsa, Kristoff, and Olaf all have solo songs in Frozen and Frozen II, while Anna and Hans share a song, and Anna shares multiple songs in Frozen. Anna finally gets her own solo song in Frozen II alongside the rest of the main cast. Menzel, Groff, Gad, and Fontana each received critical acclaim for their musical performances prior to being cast in Frozen, so it is no surprise they sang their own songs. Demi Lovato also recorded a version of “Let it Go!” that was released as a single, which is considered the pop version of Menzel’s rendition.

While Kristen Bell has previously sung on Broadway, she has not always sung her own songs in movies, such as when Bell didn't sing in Burlesque. However, Anna’s songs are completely Bell’s own in Frozen and Frozen II. Menzel's Broadway fame since the mid-1990s has earned her a Tony nomination for Rent, a Tony win for Wicked, and another nomination for If/Then. In addition to his Broadway history, Frozen is not the only Disney movie Josh Gad sings in, as he also lends his singing voice to Le Fou in the live-action Beauty and the Beast remake. Frozen actually has a full Broadway cast, with both Groff and Fontana having acclaimed Broadway musical careers long before their Disney movie roles.

Frozen's Entire Cast Singing Avoided A Major Disney Problem

The entire Frozen cast singing their own songs avoids a major Disney problem, as many iconic songs are not sung by the stars of the Disney movies. Disney has had some major voice actors throughout the years, but their voices are not always fit for the singing roles, so it is not uncommon to cast someone else for the musical parts instead. For instance, Linda Larkin memorably voiced Princess Jasmine in Aladdin, but the character's singing voice can be credited to Lea Salonga. Solanga sang all of Jasmine’s songs, including “A Whole New World”.

Other Disney voice actors who did not sing their characters' songs include Matthew Broderick (Simba), Ming-Na Wen (Mulan), Irene Bedard (Pocahontas), and Scott Weinger (Aladdin). Although these Disney songs are still iconic to this day, having separate voice and singing casts causes an issue with recognition. Not only does it cause confusion in crediting the singers for their importance to such films, but it also disconnects the voice actors from the characters. Frozen, on the other hand, was able to promote the movie by having the voice actors perform the songs on stage and still keep big names voicing their main characters.